Railroad-switch



3 Sheets-Sheet 1. L. J. LINDSEY.

(No Model.)

RAILROAD SWITGE.

No. 380,582. Patented Apr. 3, 1888.

M. M m

3 Sheets-Sheet 2,

(No Model.)

L. J. LINDSEY.

RAILROAD SWITCH.

Patented Apr. 3, 1888.

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A. a 8 MN @Vl T all N Pains, Fhohrhihugnpmr. Walhmgton.

t e Dv h S t e 6 n S 3 ME .Ew S DW N I D L R uL L a d o M 0 Patented Apr. 3, 1888.

PATENT rrrcn.

LEROY JAMES LINDSEY, OF SEYMOUR, IOYVA.

RAlLROAD-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent. No. 380,582 dated April 3, 1888.

Application filed September 22, 1887. Serial No. 250.420.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, LEROY JAMES LINDSEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seymour, in the county of Vi ayne and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Switches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certain improvements in railroad-switches; and it has for its objects to provide for automatically shifting the movable rails or switch-rails by means of the passing ear or train in connection with mechanism arranged thereon and under control of the engineer or other employc or trainhand, so as to keep the car or train on the main track or shunt it to asiding when traveling in either direction from the train, thereby insuring the train from accidents due to misplaced switches, attendant upon the ordinary switch-shifting mechanism.

The invention further has for its objects to provide for supporting the movable switchrails independently of the sleepers, or mainly so, relieving the weight of the same from the sleepers to a great extent, and thus reducing the friction 5 and, further, to provide for holding the movable rails when set, and facilitating the shifting of the same, as more fully herein specified.

The above-mentioned objects I attain by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a plan view of a portion of a track and siding, showing the mechanism by which the movable switch-rails are operated at one end of the siding. Fig. 2 represents a similar view of another portion of the track, showing the mechanism for shifting the switch-rails on the other end of the siding and a modification of the switch-operating mechanism shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the track, the switch-shifting mechanism, and a portion of a car with the mechanism for automatically operating the switch-shifting devices. Fig. at represents a transverse vertical sectional view of the track taken on the line a: a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on (No model.)

liney y of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a similar view taken on the line zz of Fig. 1; Fig. 7, a de tached sectional view of one of the inclinedfaced bearing-plates, upon which the ends of the movable switch-rails slide; Fig. 8, a bottom view of a car-truck or that portion of a car provided with the rail-shifting devices, showing each device; Fig. 9, a detached perspective view of the shifting-lever, signal-target, and supporting-bracket attached to the car or truck, showing the detents by which the shifting mechanism is operated to move the movable switch-rails or to leave the switchmoving device inoperative. Fig. 10 represents a side elevation of a train of cars and track, showing my invention applied thereto.

The letter A indicates the stationary portion of the rails of the main track, and B the stationary portions of the rails of the siding, which are arranged relatively to each other in the ordinary manner.

0 indicates the movable switch-rails of the main track, and D the similar rails of the switch track or siding, which are pivoted on the ends of their respective stationary rails, and are beveled toward their free ends, as usual, so as to guide the flange of the wheel to the main or switch track, according to the respective positions of the movable rails, in the manner well known to railroad-engineers and others.

At the outside of each of the main rails, as shown in Fig. 1, just before the commencement of the siding or switch track are located the levers E, which are fulcrumed at one end to the rails, the sleepers, or any suitable portion of the end of the track, the other ends being connected with the ends of the transverse bar F, which is secured to a rock-shaft, F, journalcd longitudinally between the rails in suitable bearings, G, so that when one leveris depressed the other will be raised, and vice versa, giving motion to the rockshaft in opposite directions, for the purpose more fully hereinafter explained.

The rock-shaft has secured to it an arm or tap, H, which extends downward and passes through an opening in a curved cross-bar, I,

to the ends of which the two opposite rails of I00 the main and switch section of the track are secured. The lower end of the arm or tap is screw-threaded and provided with a screw-nut, by means of which the cross-bar may be ad justed, so as to throw the whole or main portion of the weight of the movable switch-rails upon the transverse shaft, and thus reduce the friction between the said rails and ties to a minimum. The rock-shaft has also attached to it another transverse bar, F, precisely similar to the before-mentioned one, and to the said bar are secured the levers K at one end of the same, the other ends being pivoted to the track, bed, or ties of the track, as before mentioned. These levers are similar to the beforernentioned levers; but instead of both being fulcrumed adjacent to the stationary rails of the main track only one is so located, the other being arranged beside the outer rail of the siding-track, as plainly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The said levers have a relative movement similar to the levers E, before mentionedthat is,one lever will be elevated while the other is depressed, so as to move the rockshaft.

The rock-shaft, through the medium of the curved bar I, moves the switch-rails laterally to run the train or car on the main rail or shift it to the siding, as occasion may require.

The letter L indicates two levers, which are fulcrumed one on each side of the main track, and which rise and fall alternately in the same manner and for the same purpose as the levers before mentioned. The said levers instead of being fulcrumed at one end, asin the case of thelevers E and K, are fulcrumed midway between their ends, leaving one end of each free, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The outer ends of said levers are connected with a crossbar, F, on a rock-shaft, F, mounted longitudinally between the trucks and connected with the switch-rails by means of a curved bar, I.

The cross-bar, rock-shaft, and switch-rails are identical with the similarly-lettered rails hereinbefore described, and operated in the same manner, and the rock-shaft connects with two alternately-moving levers, K, which are identical in their movements with the levers E first mentioned, and are connected to the rock-shaft by a similar cross-bar, F, the said levers only differing from the levers E in their location, one being fulcrumed at the side of the main rail while the other is located at the side of the outer stationary switch-rail.

The letter M indicates a truck car or caboose of the ordinary construction and running on the usual flanged wheels. The said truck or car has journaled underneath it, in suitable bearings, a transverse shaft, N, which is capable of a lateral movement in its bearings, so as to be extended to either side. The said shaft is provided with plain wheels P at each end, the peripheries of which are on a level with the upper surface of the rails. The shaft is also provided with a fixed grooved collar, P, into which extends one end of an arm, B, secured to the lower end of a vertical shaft, S, having an arm, T, above the whole, constituting a lever, by means of which the shaft N may be shifted from side to side. The vertical shaft is provided with a target'signal, U, at its upper end, and the arm R with a looselyfulcrnmed lever, V, which takes into the detents or recesses in a bracket, W, which is secured to the truck or car and forms the upper bearing for the vertical shaft R.

Having thus fully described my invention, I will now proceed to describe its operation.

The rails being in the position shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 10, and the cars in position shown in Figs. 3 and 10,wherein they are on the main track just ahead of the switch-track, upon advancing, the car or cars may be made to run over the track without disturbing the switches by setting the leverV into the central detent or recess of the bracket YV,which causes the wheels P to run over the rails in line with the ordinary flanged wheels. By turning the leverV to either side, however, and'securing it in one of the side detents, the shaft N is shifted so as to throw the wheels P out of line with the track, so that one will ride over one of the levers Eand depress it. This will oper ate the rock-shaft to set the switch-rails,so as to run the train on the main track or side track, according to the direction in which the lever T is turned.

The switch-rail, shifting-levers, and mechanism by which they are operated simultanely to run the cars on the main track or sidetrack them are so arranged in relation to each other and to the shifting mechanism of the cars or train that when the lever Vi's turned to one side the mechanism will always operate to open the switches if closed, and keep the train on the main track, and ifturned in the opposite direction will always close the switches and shunt or side-track the train, no matter in what direction it is traveling, while the switch mechanism may be left absolutely free by bringing the leverV to its central position, when desired.

The letter A, Fig. 7, indicates a plate having an inclined guideface upon which the end of the switch-rail slides, so as to guide it to its place against the proper-rail when shifted and hold it there against accidental displacement.

B indicates an ordinary switch-lever arranged at the side of the track and connected to the switch-levers by a bar, 0, so as to work independently of the automatically-operating devices of the train; but at the same time to permit the said devices to operate the switches and through them the said lever B, so as to display the proper signal at the proper time by the operation of the train devices by the train-hands.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. The combination, with the stationary main rails and siding-rails of a car-track, of the movable switch rails, the longitudinal rock-shaft connected therewith by a laterallymoving and vertically adj ustable curved cross bar, said shaft being provided with a depending tap, and the switch-operating levers fulcrumed to the track and connected with the rock-shaft by transverse bars, whereby the switch-rails may be automatically operated by a passing car or train, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the movable switch-rails, of the adjustable curved crossbar, to the end of which said rails are pivoted, the arm or tap provided with an adj usting-nut to which said cross-bar is secured, and the operating rock-shaft carrying said arm or tap, and arranged to support the cross-bar and switch-rails, so as to reduce friction between the same and the ties, substantially as described.

3. The combination,with the vertical shaft, its upper and lower arms, and the laterallyshifting shaft and its wheels for operating the switch-rail shifting-levers, of the target-signal secured to the vertical shaft, whereby the position of the switches will be indicated from the moving car or train along the line of the track, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the main rails of the track,of the levers L L, fulcrumed at each side of the same, the said levers being free each at one end and secured to the rocking cross-bar F at the other, so as to operate the rock-shaft to shift the switch-rails automatically upon the passage of a car or train, an adjustable curved bar connecting and supporting the movable switch-rails, and a rockshaft with its tap connected to said curved bar, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the movable switch-rails, of the inclined bearing-plates upon which the ends of the same are arranged to slide, and the adjustable curved bar connecting the movable switch-rails, whereby the said rails are guided to their seats and held there, and a rock-shaft with its tap connected to said curved bar, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEROY JAMES LINDSEY.

Witnesses:

JOHN G. EMRICK, WM. ASHCRAFT. 

